20 Interesting Body Language Facts – Part II

In our last episode of body language facts, we learned quite a few interesting facts like women ogle men as much as men ogle women, eye blinking increases under conditions of stress or when someone is lying, men are attracted more towards women who laugh at them and more… But, we were far from being done. Here is another round of 20 interesting body language facts that you probably were not aware of. So, let’s get started!

Interesting Body Language Facts: 1-10

1. One of the most interesting pacifying acts that we commit when we are in stress is that of stroking or touching our neck. Women are more frequent with this one especially when they are fearful, stressed, distressed, uncomfortable or feel threatened. The area that women specifically touch – subconsciously – is the neck dimple which is the hollow area right between their breast bone and Adam’s apple.

2. Face platter is a courtship gesture which is commonly used by gay men and women. In this gesture, a person will simply place the palm of one hand on top of the dorsum (back side of the palm) of the other hand place the chin on them in a way as if the face has been placed on a platter. It is more like offering the face for admiration or kiss.

3. Women touch their neck dimple during stressful conditions. What about the men? They prefer their face and yes, face touching my men is also a subconscious move.

4. In most of the areas in this world, when two people of same gender maintain a prolonged eye contact, it is usually considered as a sign of hostility, confrontation or aggression. This is usually the case in countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia. However, when we move to West, this is pretty normal. Move to Middle East, prolonged eye contact between people of same gender is absolutely normal and it is not just normal. It is rather sustained and intense without any intention of hostility.

5. When threatened, our instinctual behavior is flight response. This means that when we are threatened, we have a tendency of fleeing the spot. This is usually seen in case of animals. However, modern humans have adapted to a great extent. Under threatening conditions, we now incline towards evasive actions subconsciously rather than resorting to flight response. Some of the most common evasive actions that we use are:

Rubbing eyes.

Closing eyes.

Placing objects like keys, purses etc. on our laps.

Leaning away (especially from the person or thing that is threatening us).

Subconsciously turning our feet towards the exit area but not actually fleeing.

6. When we feel anxious or disagree to something or perhaps we are in a state of disbelief, we tend to keep our eyes closed for a prolonged time. We may also look down for a longer time or perhaps we may cover our eyes with our palms for a prolonged time. All these actions are extremely powerful non-verbal gestures and are collectively known as eye blocking.

7. When it comes to neck massaging or touching, pregnant women slightly differently. They will start with their neck and then move their hand along their chest and then to their stomach. This unconscious move is more like act of covering the fetus from the stress she is experiencing.

8. It is not just massaging or touching of neck that pacifies us to a great extent. Other activities like using tongue to rub or massage cheeks and lips from inside the mouth is also a pacifying gesture. Scientists have figured out that these gesture send signals to our brain which in turn releases stress-relieving hormone known as endorphin.

9. One great body language to detect deception is to check for leg cleansing. This is an act where a person will simply place his or her hands (palms) on thighs and slide them down continuously towards the knee. Once the palms reach the knees, they will subconsciously drag their palms up again and repeat the action. However, sometimes innocent folks who are very tensed in a situation may also use the same body language. Overall, it is nothing but a pacifying action.

10. A great way to identify a person’s true intentions is to observe his or her legs. During a conversation, two people will usually stand or sit face to face with their toes pointing at each other. At a point where a person finally disagrees during the discussion, he or she will subconsciously slightly move his or her feet outwards or will continuously move one leg in outward direction. This body language means disagreement and a sign that the person disagreeing wants to leave.

Interesting Body Language Facts: 11-20

11. Self-hugging is a body action which indicates that a person is trying to pacify himself or herself. In this body language, the person will cross his or her arms and put them on opposite shoulders and then use the palms to rub from shoulders to elbows. This is usually how mothers pacify their babies when they are stressed for some reason.

12. There is something called ventilation action. This is a subconscious action which helps to relieve stress. In men, the action will involve tucking in a finger between the neck and the shirt or t-shirt collar area and pulling away the fabric away from skin. When this action takes place in a perfectly normal temperature, it simply indicates that the man is trying to get rid of the stress.

13. In case of women, ventilation action involves hair. They will simply take their hands to the back of their heads, slide in the fingers underneath the hair and toss their hair, baring the backs of their necks in an attempt to create an escape gateway stress.

14. When caught in a confrontational situation, people will spread out their legs and feet. There are two reasons for this. First, it is just a gesture that help them to maintain their balance and second, spreading out legs and feet simply means they are trying to gain as much territory as possible to reflect dominance. The second reason is merely a subconscious action and comes naturally.

15. Apart from confrontational situations, people may still be found standing with legs and feet spread out even during day-to-day activities. Though habitual and a subconscious act, it actually turns out that those people are far more confident, are self-assured and often have a higher social status.

16. When two people sit side by side and keep their legs crossed in a fashion that one leg crosses over the top of the other, the direction in which the top leg is crossed reveals a message. First, if the crossed over leg is pointing towards the other person, it simply means that the person is comfortable around the other person. Second, if the crossed over leg is pointing in the opposite direction to the other person, it simply means that the person is not very comfortable around the seated next to him or her.

17. Again, if two seated people are engaged in conversation (usually a social interaction) in which both of them are extremely comfortable, their legs will subconsciously mirror the legs of each other. This is technically referred to as isopraxism.

18. The sudden kicking of a foot of a seated person reveals that the person is in a state of discomfort caused by an external stimulus. For example, a terrible question asked by the interviewer during an interview. If the interviewee is not comfortable with the question, this body language usually shows up.

19. Similar to feet movement, discomfort is also often indicated by sudden crossing of the arms. For instance, during a meeting, a person may suddenly, out of no reason cross an arm and reach out to coat button to button it up. Once the conversation with disagreeable person is over, the person will undo the button and get back to previous condition.

20. Be careful about splaying out on a couch or a chair while in a seated condition. It can simply mean that you are feeling comfy on your seat but as far as others are concerned, a wrong message can be sent out by splaying. It may mean, to some people, showing disrespect. Some may see it as an attempt to establish dominance. Splaying during interviews is never a good idea.